Candid
by blackmoon9793
Summary: And for the first time in the short period she had known him, he was completely candid with her.


_This is just a little something I came up with after watching these two interact in the 7/18 episode. I figured if they ever came clean with each other this is how it could happen. Enjoy._

Disclaimer: I do not own Kings, nor am I in any way affiliated with the NBC network. If I were this show wouldn't have been canceled so they could show an extra hour of Law & Order.

* * *

"Jack."

Her voice, soft though it was, carried down the hall. It was ironic; the sunlight streaming in through the vast windows, the light radiating from his face as he turned to her, both so different from the black turmoil rolling rapidly through her mind. She almost lost her nerve as he strode briskly across the intricate rug dividing them, as he grasped her shoulders gently, as he kissed the side of her head as he always did. He pulled back to smiled at her.

"I've hardly seen you at all today. All these preparations for the turnover of Port Prosperity have been quite demanding."

She gulped.

"I need to speak with you. Soon." Her voice came out as a rasp, despite her best efforts to maintain her composure.

The smiled evaporated slowly from his face. His brows knotted together. And for the first time, she felt like he was showing her his real emotions. "Are you ok Lulu?"

Lucinda nodded quickly, still trying to keep a straight face. "I'm fine. I just really need to talk to you."

He removed his left hand from her shoulder and gave his watch a quick glance. "Court begins in twenty minutes. If I don't leave now I'll be late. Can we speak when I return? In my rooms, perhaps?"

She could only nod again. He was always so formal with her. Was this how the king treated the queen? Yet the crease between Jack's brows remained. He spared her one last concerned look and squeezed her shoulder lightly before turning and disappearing down the hall.

Lucinda stared at the archway at the end of the corridor long after her fiancé had vanished. It was all she could do to grip her sides and concentrate on controlling her treacherous breathing. How on Earth was she supposed to confront him if she could barely string three words together in his presence? Voices echoed down the hall as others approached, pulling Lucinda from her daze. Dear Lord, she did not need to go through another round of questioning with the queen. And if someone so much as mentioned the words 'wedding plans' she might very well have thrown up.

Turning on her heels, she ran as quietly as she could, turning here, climbing stairs there, until she found herself in front of the door to Jack's rooms. Wrenching the thing open, she shot through the entrance and slammed the door closed as silently as possible.

She rested her head against the cool surface of the mahogany, gulping down air, trying to steady her heart rate. It was a relief, almost, that brief absence of thought. Her first one in a full day. She turned slowly to lean against the door, taking in Jack's sitting room. It was as a prince's quarters should be; elegant, immaculate, proper. Everything he was not. It wasn't exactly a secret that he kept a penthouse in the city, however. It probably suited him more. Lucinda wouldn't know; she'd never been.

Was that how it was going to be? she wondered. Would he spend week nights at the palace, but then completely forgo it on the weekends? Or would he slip out while she was sleeping to have his fun, returning at dawn as though he hadn't been anywhere of consequence?

Her eyes swept the room slowly before resting on the grandfather clock in the corner. Good Lord. She had wasted a full hour standing there. She needed to plan, needed to construct some strategy to confront him with what she had caught on to. Rubbing her temples, Lucinda moved to sit on Jack's ornate couch.

She was a Wolfsen, for crying out loud. She had been bred and educated with the sole purpose of being married off to the rich and powerful, and Jack Benjamin was the richest, most powerful man she could have possibly hoped to win over.

But why had he put her in this position in the first place? Sweeping up to the gates of her family's mansion, he had made her feel like the princess out of one of the fairytales she had adored as a child. Cinderella. The elaborate diamond ring he had slipped onto her finger was the glass slipper, the celebratory party immediately following the first part of happily ever after. Jack had promised her when she accepted his proposal that he would never throw her into the world of politics the way the king had his mother. Fool that she was, she thought the rest of her life would be a walk in the clouds: the dream wedding, the adoring husband, the little dark haired children running through the halls of Alter Palace. They couldn't have gone wrong.

She had thought the whole ordeal incredibly romantic. The whirlwind relationship, the plans to marry as soon as possible, the immediate acceptance into the royal family. Why should she have suspected him of having any ulterior motives? Legend had it that Silas had met the queen on a Monday and married her by the following Friday. Couldn't his son fall in love just as quickly?

How could she have been so stupid?

Without any warning, Jack burst through the door with all the ferocity of a tornado, slamming it behind him with the most peculiar look on his face. Turning to her, it vanished instantly into smile. How had she missed it for so long? The hard lines at the corners of his mouth, the tightness around his eyes. She had to hand it to him, if nothing else Jack was a good actor.

"Lulu." He strode to her, leaning down to grasp her shoulders. He always held her at arm's length. Why hadn't she noticed that before? "Are you alright? You seemed so agitated earlier."

Lucinda closed her eyes and shook her head slowly, trying her best to pray away the lump that had suddenly formed in her throat. This was it.

"Jack," she croaked out, unable to continue.

He kneeled down in front of her, taking her hands in his. "Lulu, whatever it is you know you can tell me, right?"

"Jack," she tried again. "Jack, I know what's really going on." She gulped. "I know about Katrina Ghent."

He shook his head, the slight, utterly false smile still on his face. "Lulu, I have no―"

"No, Jack," she held up her hands to stop him. "No. I hear things. You and your mother try so hard to make sure I don't, but I do. I know that up until a few hours before you proposed to me you were engaged to her. I know that this, that _us_," she gestured in the space between them, "isn't real; it never was. And I know why it can't be."

He was standing now, running one hand through his hair and pacing. "Jack, I saw you with him. For someone who tries so hard to hide it, you're not very good at it."

His back was to her now, the hand still entangled in his hair. She was silent, waiting for his response. The ball was in his court now. Finally he turned back to her, his face set. "Lucinda―"

"Please, Jack, don't insult me any more by lying to me."

He let out a shaky breath, averting his eyes. And for the first time in the short period she had known him, he was completely candid with her. "I didn't intend for you to find out until long after the wedding. I had hoped that by then my mother's lectures would have convinced you of the necessity of the situation."

They had. If Silas' line was to continue, Jack would need an heir. And he couldn't have an heir without a wife. "Why me?"

He shook his head slightly, still refusing to look at her. "You're sweet. And kind. And gentle. From a respectable family. You're not unintelligent, but you're not as sharp as my sister, either. I thought, if I _had_ to have a wife, I wouldn't mind it being you."

He sat on the floor in front of her, curling his knees to his chest and resting his elbows on top of them, his hands clasped in front of him. "I am sorry if I've hurt you, I really am. I never asked to be this way. But I've spent so long apologizing for it, I'm not sure if I can do it again."

Lucinda watched him sitting there, staring pointedly at her feet. Never had she seen him look so vulnerable. So fragile. And then it struck her: he couldn't change the way he was, but he couldn't stop being himself either. In the entire world, Jack had nobody but himself. No one to trust. And it scared him senseless.

Jack needed someone to rely on, someone he could trust to never judge him and always be there for him. His father couldn't be that person; he was too obsessed with David Shepherd to think of anything else. His twin sister was just the same. And the queen…

He needed her. He needed his wife.

She leaned toward him, keeping her voice as gentle as she could, as though she were comforting a child. "Jack." He wouldn't look at her. "Jack, I am going to marry you. I'm going to be a good wife to you, I promise. I'll stand by you no matter what comes to pass. I'll give you an heir; I'll give you as many children as you want. And I won't stop you from being who are."

Finally, his eyes met hers, glistening with emotion she had never seen in him before. Solemnly, he said, "I sorry you have to do this."

Lucinda bent forward and pressed her lips softly to his forehead. The dark curtains of her hair shielded him from the pretentiousness of the world in which they were ensnared. She leaned back and looked him squarely in the eyes. He understood the symbolism, the vow made from princess to prince, wife to husband, friend to friend. "We can't turn back now.

"Come." She took him by the elbows and pulled him to his feet. Straightening his collar, she said, "Table should begin soon; we need to prepare ourselves."

Jack gave her a small smile, the first one he had given her that was entirely real, and nodded. She removed her hands from his shirt and made to move back from him, but he pulled her into a firm hug. He rested his chin carefully on her shoulder and whispered, "We're going to be ok, Lulu."

She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and gave him as a small squeeze. "I know."

Lucinda pulled back and returned her fiancé's smile before striding across the room. She exited, closing the door behind her, before resting her back against it. The sunlight was fading now, casting shadows on every piece of furniture, every doorway. This time, though, Lucinda didn't fear the darkness of the palace, or the people in it for that matter. She knew where she stood now.

Sighing, Lucinda stood up straight and smoothed her shirt. Setting her jaw, she walked briskly from Jack's rooms into the interior of the palace. Time to do her job.


End file.
